Mental health disorders are disorders that affect the way that we think and behave, and our mood.
In recent years, we have seen an increase in the number of people with mental and physical health conditions. There are many reasons why this is occurring, such as poverty, stigma, discrimination etc. However, another reason is the increased understanding and knowledge of conditions. More and more people are sharing their experiences of mental and physical health conditions online and through social media. The more people understand the signs and symptoms of conditions, there is more chance they will seek help, if needed.
The Unease Project aims to encourage people to express their feelings through photography and creative writing.
Photography is an art form. We can take a picture and we see a snapshot in time. It captures what is going on, but it also can capture how we feel.
We can use photography to demonstrate our feelings. If we read a poem or a book or experience an event, how does it make us feel?
If we feel sad, what image does that sadness create in our mind?
Phototherapy and therapeutic photography are both terms we might use in relation to mental health and photography.
Phototherapy, confusingly, is a type of light therapy used to treat jaundice in young babies. But it is also the term used to describe counselling carried out in conjunction with photography. This is a formal form of therapy.
Therapeutic photography is similar but slightly different. With therapeutic photography, a person might take photographs to express how they feel. It is not a formal therapy. It is a way that anyone with a camera can express how they feel by taking images. It is a form of expression. By taking these images, a person may hopefully feel some form of emotional release.
It can also be a sort of visual diary, where people can take images to share their stories.
A person might choose to share their images in a blog or on social media, or they might wish to keep them private.
Some therapeutic photography exercises you might try –
Read a poem or short story or news article and take a photograph that illustrates how it makes you feel.
Think about how you feel. Take an image that expresses this feeling. It does not have to make sense to someone else. Another person does not have to look at your photo and think – “Ah, they’re sad.” The photo is for you. You can share it or explain it to other people, if you want to, but you don’t have to.
Think of a word. Our project for January 2023 had been loneliness. I have taken images of benches to express these feelings of loneliness. Try thinking of a word, then taking images that you think express that word. The word does not have to be a negative word. You might be happy, sad, lonely, joyful. However you feel, you can take photographs to express yourself.
Your photos can be abstract or realistic. There are no “rules” on the photographs you take. Decide on the image that most expresses how you feel.
Give it a go.
Keep a visual diary.
Take images that express how you feel – for yourself or to share with others.
- The Unease Project
Comentários